Paddington Station

So where were we? Ah yes, just landing at London Heathrow! We took the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station, which remains part of my favorite ritual of returning back to London. There is just a certain peace in that travel – something about the homes whizzing past, the calming British accents on the overhead speaker, the quick news roundup — the 15 minute trip is one of my faves!

And then it’s Paddington Station, which still feels familiar from when I used to live here – the soup cart, Delice de France and Burger King is still there, you still have to pay to use the toilets, but there’s more construction going on! More retail and food stores in the works! It’s enough new and old to make me feel that I have returned!

Since the movie was released, Paddington Bear now has both a statue by Platform 1 – and within the Paddington Bear store, which is now on the ground floor. Lots of Paddington merchandise can be purchased and make sure you check out the secret compartment in the store, which includes Paddington’s stash of marmalade!

It was nearly 2 p.m. when we had arrived and I needed a coffee and a bite to eat. I made a beeline for Pret a Manger (because no trip to the U.K. is complete without a visit here), picked up a sandwich (chicken and avocado) and then headed to the front counter to get some coffee.

I order a mocha. My daughter points at a blueberry muffin that is on display at the counter and so I add this to the order.

And then my son spots a gooey, gorgeously large chocolate chip cookie. Before I can order it, the lady behind the counter grabs it and puts it in a bag for me, with a cheeky little “Shhh… it’s yours” grin. I like this lady now.

And then when she rings up my order, she tells me it’s £4. Now the mocha alone is nearly £4 so I know I’m getting a deal here. I say “£4?” and she says yes! It was an amazing moment.

I later found out that Pret has a whole alternative loyalty program, which empowers their employees to give a customer a free coffee, whenever they want.

I love this sort of thing. It was the first of many random acts of kindness that I experienced on our trip!
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